Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier invited Pakistan for a bilateral series, now BCCI announced the schedule for the upcoming short series against Pakistan in India. The series comprises Two Twenty20s and three One Day International (ODI) matches to be played in December-January.

The Pakistan national team is scheduled to arrive in India on December 22 and the first T20 will be played in Bangalore on December 25 followed by the second T20 match in Ahmedabad on December 27. The first ODI will be played in Chennai on December 30 with the second ODI scheduled to be played in Kolkata on January 3 while the final ODI will be played in New Delhi on January 6. The team will return to Pakistan on January 7.

The first in five years and just recently secured government clearance for Pakistan to tour India. The rivals have not played a series since Pakistan’s tour of India in 2007, after cricket ties were snapped following the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Since then, the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams have only met in international tournaments. They clashed in the World Cup semi-final in the north Indian town of Mohali last year, a high-profile game that was attended by the prime ministers of the two countries. They also played during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March and the World Twenty20 in September.